Frustrated Marion bike path officials seek alternate route

MARION — Frustrated by years of delays, bike path proponents are seeking a way around a land deal, needed to connect Route 105 to the rest of the route, that just never seems to happen — and they have already identified at least one possibility.

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By MATT CAMARA

southcoasttoday.com

By MATT CAMARA

Posted May. 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By MATT CAMARA
Posted May. 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

MARION — Frustrated by years of delays, bike path proponents are seeking a way around a land deal, needed to connect Route 105 to the rest of the route, that just never seems to happen — and they have already identified at least one possibility.

"Frustration is prompting us to look for an alternative route," Marion Bike Path Committee member Jeff Oakes said. "If we can develop 'Plan B' more rapidly, then we'll do that."

Marion's leg of the South Coast Bikeway will be about 4 miles of the 38-mile path expected to run from Swansea to Wareham. The Marion path is estimated to cost about $3.2 million to build, according to materials provided by the South Coast Bikeway Committee.

The piece under consideration for several years is a narrow strip of land, about 330 feet long and 16 feet wide; it belongs to an abutter of Bay Watch Realty's proposed 40B affordable housing project on Front Street. The abutter agreed to allow bike path proponents to use the land in Marion's leg of the larger bikeway once Bay Watch receives a building permit for the project.

The bike path would have a difficult time finding state or federal funds without it going from one public way to another, making the connector property vital, Oakes said.

"It can't just dead end in the middle of the woods," he said.

The deal, brokered by the Sippican Lands Trust, has continually failed to materialize, however, as delays beset the 40B project over and over. Bike path officials told The Standard-Times last week that they have waited "at least five years" with some saying the first talk of a land deal was made in 2005.

"This is what has held up the Marion Bike Path Committee for years," said Kirk Coykendall, a member of the Marion Bike Path Committee, adding that during a discussion about the plot he told other members "You're not going to get it."

The project recently received a building permit in January, only to have it revoked days later; town officials said they realized Bay Watch had failed to meet a number of conditions it was required to satisfy first.

The delays have sent bike path supporters looking for another way.

Oakes and Coykendall checked out an alternative plot of land recently but declined to specify where it was because they had not approached the property owner yet. Coykendall did say, however, that the piece is slightly south of the original plot — which runs between The Wave Restaurant and Bar and The Marion Institute — and would lead to Spring Street and later cross Route 105, continuing until it reached Washburn Park.

The committee has not completely abandoned the old plot, however, with Oakes saying it'll take whatever plan seems likely to bear fruit.

The old plot wouldn't be immediately available should Bay Watch get its permit either.

Receiving the building permit would only "start the process" for proponents to gain access to the property, Oakes said.

"It could be more years. We're not in control ..." he said.

Using a new route should not affect the affordable housing development or its building permit, said Ken Steen, a principal in the project. The agreement to grant the 330-foot property for use in bike path is between the abutter and developers; the town is not involved, Town Administrator Paul Dawson said.

Mattapoisett bike path proponents are also waiting on Marion because they want to coordinate fundraising efforts to connect the two towns' routes, said Bonne DeSousa, a member of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path and regional bikeway committee.

Regional bike path officials said a new proposed route could reinvigorate the stalled bike path, which has seen no real construction in Wareham and sporadic work in Mattapoisett.

"You look on a map right now and you see spots," said Bob Espindola, president of the South Coast Bikeway Committee. "You look at the whole 38 miles and you see segments."

Tying the eastern portion of the path together would not only provide a morale boost to proponents, it could also get things rolling in other places.

"It's a very, very important piece tying Mattapoisett and Wareham," Coykendall said. "It's a pivotal piece to the whole."